People who download films from illegal sources should be warned by letter or email they are breaking the law, according to the Dutch film industry.

‘Consumers need to be educated. They need to understand it is not allowed,’ René van Turnhout, head of film distribution company Dutch Filmworks and chairman of the sector organisation NVPI Video, told broadcaster Nos.

The industry wants the government to take the same approach as Britain and Denmark where illegal downloaders are written to on the basis of their IP address.

There are, the industry points out, numerous legal alternatives in the Netherlands, including Netflix and Dutch initiatives such as Videoland Unlimited and NLZiet.

MPs will debate illegal downloading with junior justice minister Fred Teeven later this month.